"Ahem, I really don't like the thin air of Utah."

"Come on, Shaq. You don't like to stuff your big body into an airplane. ”

O'Neill and Campbell are fighting again, and the group arrives in Salt Lake City, Utah Plateau, from the California sunshine.

Salt Lake City is an important city in the western mountains of the United States, the capital of Utah, and is one of the most livable cities in the United States because of its beautiful environment, good security, and developed medical standards. The population is predominantly made up of descendants of Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and descendants of Norse immigrants.

The Jazz were founded in 1974 in New Orleans, and are known as the New Orleans Jazz because it was the birthplace of jazz.

The Jazz's home fans are so fanatical that the visitors are always greeted with expletives and boos when they play here, and this atmosphere is a big test for the away team. Salt Lake City's altitude of around 1,300 meters is another reason why the Utah Jazz Devils are home to it. The Salt Lake City plateau has low air pressure, and the impact of the hypoxic environment on athletes is also very obvious.

Bryant didn't care about that, he often used an oxygen barrier mask in his training to simulate an oxygen-deprived environment, and he had already played many series on this court. Kobe Bryant is not even afraid of Staples's boos, will he be afraid of this?

"Kobe, Kobe. I heard that Sprewell's MRI result was negative, and he said ruthlessly that he must make you look good next time. ”

"Who cares?" Kobe Bryant shrugged, there are such disgusting people everywhere in life. Whether it's right or wrong, they will show their teeth and claws in front of you like cockroaches, and the way to deal with them is always to ignore them and not let the scum affect your emotions, which is the experience that Kobe Bryant has summed up over the years.

"Also, who cares? Maybe the media is willing to stir it up. O'Neal laughed, he liked Kobe's character.

"Guys, look out, the Utah Jazz have won all three games lately. and bloodied the Kings with Richmond by 31 points, and today is bound to be a tough battle. ”

The players were poised and the Utah duo lived up to their reputation, quickly recovering from a few slumps at the start of the season. The current Jazz are also moving closer to a championship-level team.

The West plus the Jazz already have four championship-level teams. The Lakers, the Houston Big Three, last year's Western Conference champions, the SuperSonics, and the Utah Twins.

This is extremely rare in history, with so many championship contenders gathered in one division, it can be said that the difficulty of breaking through the West is nightmarish.

There has been news from the media that whoever can lead the team to the first regular season record in the West of Death this year will win the MVP. The MVP award is something that every star strives for, second only to the championship.

Whether there is an MVP or not is an important indicator of a player's historical status, and it is also a measure of whether a player is a superstar. If you haven't won the MVP, you're embarrassed to call yourself an all-time superstar.

O'Neill doesn't say it, but he still wants to fight in his heart.

。。。。。。

The game started that night, and it was another back-to-back devil's schedule on the road, but fortunately, the Lakers didn't expend too much energy in yesterday's game.

Utah's home stadium is at Delta Center, a massive glass arena that emits a lot of light through the walls at night. That's why many fans call it the "Laser Palace", and some snarky guys have come up with names like "Atomic Bomb Bunker" or "Energy Pollution Arena......

The Lakers' starting lineup is still the same old, and the Jazz have PG John Stockton, SG Jeff Hornacek, SF Brian Russell, PF Karl Malone, C Greg Ostertag.

John Stockton is the most capable guard in organizing assists since the Magic, winning 9 consecutive assists since '87! This achievement is feared that no one can surpass it.

Although he is a short white point guard of 1.85 meters, his defense is not soft at all. He worked with Karl Malone in the gym to build a strong physique, and with some of his slick moves, he was arguably the best of the league's smaller defenders. So far, he has also won four All-Defensive Team with his defense.

Jeff Hornacek is the second point of attack outside of the Jazz Malone, who has averaged 20 points per game in both Phoenix and Philadelphia, and has excellent statistics of 15+3+4 around Malone. And his performance is not something that has been bought with a lot of ball, as an off-ball pitcher, his role in the Jazz is irreplaceable.

Brian Russell is a second-round pick raised by the Jazz, with a height of 2.01 meters and a weight of 102 kilograms. His excellent physical attributes allowed him to play the role of an outside sapper for the Jazz.

Karl Malone is the heart of the Jazz team, and he is also a supergiant. He has the ability to blast 30+10 stats in any game. He has also averaged similar numbers over several seasons. At present, he has been selected to the All-Star team for 8 consecutive years, and it can be said that he is the king of power forwards.

This season, he shot 55% from the field to 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He is the most important factor in the media's perception of the Jazz as a championship contender.

Malone comes from a small forward and has excellent dynamic talent, ball handling skills, and an all-time mid-range shooting ability. This leaves a large number of power forwards in the league helpless against him, and his nimble footwork combined with accurate mid-range shooting can blow up almost all traditional power forwards.

Greg Ostertag is a 2.18-meter, 127-kilogram heavy interior player who acts as a shield for the Jazz, and his sturdy frame can create a lot of blocking opportunities for the Jazz's pitchers. At the same time, his body standing there is a very good inside barrier.

They also have the in-form Antoine Kyle on the bench, who averages 7.4 points in 17.8 minutes per game. It can be said that the bench bandit of the Jazz.

On paper, the Jazz are not as good as many championship teams, and Kobe feels that they are a strong team at best.

But under Sloan's leadership and the chemistry of Stockton and Malone, the team is far more powerful than the lineup on paper.

Kobe Bryant will never forget that his first trip to the playoffs fell to this Jazz team.

"Listen, guard against their pick-and-roll! Kobe Bryant locked up Stockton, and Campbell was bullish on Malone. Don't change guards, repeat don't change guards! "Harris set up defensive tactics before the game.

But under the blocking and demolition of Malone and Ostertag, can the Lakers really not change their defense?

The problem ended after the Jazz scored their first three straight shots of the game, and the Lakers couldn't defend against the Jazz's pick-and-roll without changing their defenses.

When the Lakers forced a switch in the face of the pick-and-roll opening, Malone and Stockton both had the ability to quickly finish the offense, hitting shots in the blink of an eye.